The Lord has called , equipped and appointed us to do mighty things

Circled around close, we clutched our coffee mugs. With the backdrop set for conversation between myself and these precious stay at home moms, the sound of toddlers alternated between giggling, screaming, and squealing.

I listened. We were interrupted. I heard. We were interrupted.

I felt their longing to be more and do more. They wondered about their gifting and how they could use them more fully. Weren’t they missing out on more that God might have for them?

During our final interruption, I hugged them tight and shared a few thoughts.

Days passed, again I clutched my coffee mug, but this time I listened to a successful career woman. While her circumstances were polar opposite than my other young friends, she pondered a similar angst. She felt a restlessness in her spirit and discontent; a “day in and day out” ordinariness and wondered if there was more.

“What was God’s real purpose for her?” she pondered.

If you expect dialogue about finding God’s will for your life, you are mistaken. There are hundreds of books on the topic, but often, we make it something much more mysterious than it ought to be.

Sometimes we confuse “finding God’s perfect will for our lives” with just being available right where we are.

Our vocation, our spiritual gifts, our creative outlets, our day to day choices are all ultimately acts of worship. I pen those words, but I need to re-read them to myself.

My day to day monotony equals worship?  I want those words to soak deep into my soul and breathe life into this very moment.

I’ve had to block out a lot of excess noise coming my way lately and my own internal conversations weigh heavily. I’ve been pulled by the very voices that whisper, “You could have done so much more with what I gave you. Wasted potential.”

I know my calling and worth aren’t defined by salary or positions or popularity, yet at varying times in my life, in my mundane moments of sameness, it’s hard not to wonder what I’ve missed.

And then I hear Mordecai reminding Esther,”For such a time as this,” and it fires me up.

The Lord has called, equipped, and appointed us to do amazing things right where we are, in whatever role we work or serve.

Can I get a drum roll? It’s nothing earth shattering, but it sure stirs my passion and purpose of making the ordinary, extraordinary.

I’ve been convicted over and over that I need to stop guessing and waiting and wondering what the next big thing is because often the elusive “thing” that matters most is for us to dive in right where we are planted. God shows up repeatedly when I decide to “be all in” regardless of how I feel about my circumstances at the moment.

Girl twirling in sunlight

If you were called to create, then do so right now because the Master Artist breathed beauty and life into this world canvas Himself and it’s a reflection of his glory.

If you were called to make oatmeal for toddlers, it’s not just another meal; you are nourishing the next generation of world changers.

If you are called to keep books and file papers, know that God is the master organizer. He created order and you are fulfilling a sacred calling which helps elevate those around you.

We are in God’s will when we are doing what He called us to do at this very moment.

It looks different for all of us; it may be in the classroom, at home, in the workplace, or in full time ministry. No job or gifting or calling is greater than another when you are in His will.

The nameless Samaritan woman who repented at the well was just as much in God’s will as Queen Esther when she saved the Jewish people and ultimately an entire nation.

The young boy who shared his five loaves and two fish was just as much in God’s will as a rich man who would give everything he had to the Lord.

Jesus was just as much in God’s will when He was a carpenter as He was hanging on the cross!

Never doubt your incredible value.

You are worthy! You are needed! You are already amazing!

Stop waiting, stop wondering and be all in right where you are.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music . . . Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

Where can you sweep today? Just do the Next Thing.

(I originally posted this at (in)courage: home for the heart of women. We’d love to have you join us there.)